Officials ban eating raw pork as swine infection increases
Officials of Public Health Region 8 have banned the consumption of raw pork and raw pig's blood following the detection of three cases of infection with the swine bacterium streptococcus suis (S suis).
Dr Opas Karkavinpong, director of the Region 8 Disease Control Centre - covering Nakhon Sawan, Uthai Thani, Kamphaeng Phet and Phichit - said there had been 15 cases of S suis infection in the region in the past five months, two of them fatal, and such infections were increasing. Separately, three people died of S suis infection after a feast of raw pork and blood in Phayao province on April 25. The three S suis cases in Nakhon Sawan were detected at Sawan Pracharak Hospital, Opas said. One of the patients is in critical condition. The three, suffering muscle pains, stiffness of the neck and headaches, were among 10 villagers from Tambon Nongkradon in Muang Nakhon Sawan district who were hospitalised after eating raw pork and raw blood at a party last month. The others have been treated and released. The S suis bacterium is found mostly in pigs' internal organs, intestines and blood. The bacterium multiplies when the pigs fall ill, and since many pigs fall ill during seasonal climate changes such as at present, people are more at risk, Opas said. He said an alarming aspect of the infection is that its initial symptoms are similar to the stupefaction and muscle weakness caused by drinking alcohol in excess. Since raw pork and blood are often consumed along with alcoholic drinks, those infected think they are simply hung over and do not seek medical attention in time, and the delay increases the mortality rate. The bacteria first infect the blood, causing fever and severe headaches, and can cause deafness and blindness once they reach the brain. Opas urged people to see a doctor as soon as they developed initial symptoms and to stick to eating cooked pork. Officials are inspecting pig farms and abattoirs to control the disease, he said. One of the three patients, 47-year-old Khang Kasikan, said he and his neighbours prepared raw pork and raw blood on April 17 to celebrate the Songkran festival. He developed dizziness and severe stomach ache the next day and rushed to the Sawan Pracharak Hospital. He was diagnosed with S suis infection and has been hospitalised since, he said. A source at the hospital said that the two other patients had thought their symptoms were caused by alcohol and only came to see doctors earlier this month after they became chronic.
The Nation Nakhon Sawan
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